Just a Kid, Indeed
by Triscribe
Summary: When the League has a deadly emergency on their hands, Batman decides to cheat a little, bringing Robin in as a secret saboteur to end matters before they begin. No good deed goes unpunished, though. Another JLU/B:NGA tale, following Snatch and Grab, Hiding From Hawks, and so on.
1. Chapter 1

_Takes place in between JLU seasons 1 and 2._

" _Batman to all League members: Everyone converge on the device, and make sure you're_ _ **seen**_ _going."_ Questions and concerns flooded the radio waves, but he didn't have time to answer them now. If they survived, he'd explain then. " _I repeat, all of us need to be seen on approach to the nuclear device. Just do it!"_

" _Batman, what's going on? What are you planning?"_

He hesitated for a brief moment.

" _It'll take too long to fully explain now, Wonder Woman, but there is a plan - now make sure everyone is visible fighting!"_

She didn't respond, but from the sudden diminishing of complaints, Batman assumed Diana was repeating his orders to everyone around her. The entire Justice League was in the process of attacking a power plant that had been taken over by hostile forces. Or, more correctly, one insane hostile force with an army of energized robots at his command.

A little over an hour ago, Captain Marvel had called the Watchtower to sound the alarm: Doctor Thaddeus Sivana, a brilliant yet power-hungry mad scientist was in the process of claiming a nuclear power plant in northeastern Pennsylvania as his own. The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station had fallen in minutes, it's staff and workers fleeing in terror, to be replaced by metal monstrosities.

As of now, the Leaguers were rapidly penetrating the exterior defenses, with Batman's new order to head for what readings indicated was a massive device being constructed in the hollowed-out central building. It was being powered by the plundered nuclear rods, and no one wanted to have to find out what evil it was intended for.

What everyone _did_ want to know, though, was what on Earth was Batman _planning?_

The dark silhouette of his jet could be seen just passing into the airspace over the battlefield; it was lost from sight momentarily around the pair of reactors, before diving straight for the largest remaining group of robotic warriors. Explosives were dropped, and the gathered enemies became scattered and damaged - easy pickings for close combat fighters like Wildcat, Black Canary, Hawk and Dove.

Also overhead, Leaguers capable of flight ducked amongst the airborne robots, smashing through the central units, disabling their wings and thrusters to send the creatures crashing to the scorched ground below. Gradually, all of their lines of combatants closed in upon the central building, until they were all gathered together as Green Lantern's ring was bringing down the entire wall.

Inside, there were no more mechanical monstrosities waiting for them - just Sivana, standing within a small force field upon his massive creation, a triumphant grin stretching his features.

"Took you pitiful heroes long enough," His voice was high pitched and nasally, painful to listen too. "My beautiful baby's been ready for ages, and you're only just now getting here. Such a pity to keep us waiting."

"What do you want, Sivana?" Captain Marvel barked out, standing beside his sister Mary Marvel at the front of the crowd, who looked anxious but determined to be just as strong as her sibling. The other Leaguers tried to keep their expressions stony or neutral, despite the shared feeling of fear rolling through all of them. If the scientist's device was complete, what did he intend to use it for?

Smile growing even larger, Sivana was not long in answering. "Oh, just a simple thing, really - I had to make sure you all were kept busy for a time, and threatening to obliterate the entire Eastern Coast seemed like a decent way of going about it."

Several League members exchanged wide-eyed glances amongst themselves, at least until Batman stepped forward to address the villain. "Do you expect us to believe your cobbled-together machine can do that? Or are you just trying to bluff your way out of a situation that's completely backfired on you?"

"Ah! You wound me, Batman." Sivana raised a gnarled hand and pressed it to his chest dramatically. "Nothing about my baby is "cobbled-together", as you so charmingly put it; and neither has this endeavor backfired upon me. After all, I now have the entire Justice League within my sights, and none of you are likely to survive the next phase."

With that, the old scientist reached out to pull a lever from left to right, his wide grin worrying nearly every hero in the room.

Nearly.

Batman had to contain a smirk as the machine's activation sequence began - and almost immediately, the meltdown warnings and alarms began to flash. Tremors wracked the massive device, and steam began to billow from every gap in the metal plating and tubes. Taken by surprise, Sivana stumbled away from his control panel just as sparks began to fly from it. In a miniature explosion, his force field (and only means of defense) collapsed alongside the supports for the machine behind him.

"No!" The villain wailed, and before even Flash could run forward to grab him, a dark figure leapt out of the steam behind Sivana, tackling him. Astounded, the Leaguers merely stared as a surprisingly young voice rang out across the room over the quieting rumbles of the sabotaged device.

"You know what I really hate about ventilation systems? When a place blows, they're the first thing to fill with smoke!" Robin grinned at them as he secured Sivana with a pair of handcuffs, dusting his hands off as he finished. "On the other hand, when a bad guy sees every hero he expects to be coming for him out front, he's hardly worrying about keeping a decent defense in place out back."

-JKI-

"How the heck he managed to get the kid into the building without any of _us_ even noticing is what I want to know." Green Arrow muttered, crossing his arms. Black Canary took a moment to nudge him, and the archer fell silent as the pair of Gotham heroes went past.

"Maybe I'm just that good." Robin cast a smug look at the Star City defender, keeping close to his mentor's side. Arrow just gaped for a moment as the kid moved on, finally putting on a lopsided grin as he shook his head.

"Guess I've been told." He joked, getting Canary to roll her eyes. "Kinda have a hard time believing that the Bat's kid has a sense of humor, though."

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Superman joined them, watching as the pair made their way to the Batplane, a handful of braver than most heroes risking Batman's glare by calling out 'thanks, kid' or 'good job' to Robin. "He's one of the few people I know capable of getting our dreary Dark Knight to actually smile."

"You're kidding." Black Canary looked incredulous while her green companion pantomimed having a heart attack.

"Nope. I've seen them together when no one else was around, though, and that's where it's really obvious. In this setting, Batman's working overtime to keep up his walls and stop the rest of us from realizing just how much of an influence Robin has on him." Superman frowned as he remembered something. "That reminds me, I need to put some work in on the kid's birthday present..."

"Seriously?"

He tried not to laugh at Canary and Arrow's mirrored expressions of shock. He really did. "Yeah, Robin turns twelve later this month. I've been trying to convince his guardian to let me surprise him and take the kid to see some of the planet's better sights: the pyramids, the Taj Mahal, so on and so forth. No luck so far, because of the inherent 'safety risks', but I think I'm slowly wearing him down."

"That man really is as paranoid as Question." Green Arrow muttered, as the Batplane took off from the field outside the plant, where various League members were working on cleaning up some of the mess before the civilian construction crews arrived. "He lets a preteen dress up and fight crime with him, but won't let the same kid go sight-seeing with the Man of Steel?"

"I think it's because he knows Robin can handle anything Gotham dishes out, but what can even a fully grown human do against the kinds of things I often find myself being attacked by?"

"...Fair point."

"If it's such an issue, then why not switch for getting Robin a tour of the Watchtower?" Canary suggested.

"That's... Not a bad idea."

"Wait, you mean he hasn't been already?" Arrow raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think so. He got to visit the original one back when it was just the seven of us, but I don't he's been to the new station yet. Thanks, Canary."

"You're welcome. Let us know if you manage to convince Batman of it - I'd like to be around to talk to the kid when he visits, see how good of an education he really has in the martial arts."

"Please tell me you don't actually want to spar with a kid."

"No; but if you're not careful, Arrow, I might just put the two of you in a ring and see how long it takes him to take you down." She chuckled at his indignant expression, and Superman took his leave before the pair slowly shifted from insults to flirting.

 _Surprisingly enough, though she never appeared in the animated show, Mary Marvel had an appearance in one issue of the comic accompaniment, hence my inclusion of her in this chapter. I also figured after the issue with Luthor/Brainiac, Captain Marvel was willing to at least start working with the League again, even if he didn't resume membership._

 _Next chapter: Daddy Bats time! Also, the heroes go a little nuts over a simple tour..._


	2. Chapter 2

"No." Bruce growled.

"It would be safer than what I was planning before-"

"Do I need to repeat myself, Kent?" Crossing his arms, Clark drew back his annoyance - using heat vision on his friend would _not_ be helpful to the situation.

"Bruce, I want you to think about these options, because I'm not going to stop being a nuisance until you agree to at least one of them." He went on over the other man's muttered _when are you not a nuisance?_ "Let me fly him to see some of the world's wonders, which I know any kid would love, or let him visit the Watchtower and meet some other members of the League. If you're not willing to see the good that could come from both of those, then make the decision of which is the lesser of two evils."

While it wasn't the full intensity of the Batglare, the withering look that Bruce shot at him still made Clark want to take a step back. "Fine. We'll do the less dangerous option. But I swear, Kent, if he gets attached to any of those idiots, I will hold _you_ responsible."

"Why are you so against him befriending other heroes? Any of them, for that matter. It can't just be because of the secret identity issue." Kara was close to Barbara, and he knew Dick had a few friends among other young crimefighters, but Batman had made it clear over the years that his partners were to be left alone by the superhero community at large.

"...You remember how upset they all were after the Thanagarian occupation, when they thought I'd died."

"Yes." While seeing the softness Bruce possessed when comforting the young trio upon the League's return to the Manor had been heart-warming, Clark could never fully repress the shudder at being reminded of how close a call it had been to get Batman out of the crashing Watchtower before he died inside it. None of the League founders liked to remember the occupation for a lot of reasons, but that was one of the big ones.

"Ours isn't a very safe job, Clark. Gotham especially, but there are plenty of missions just as dangerous that the League partakes in. Dealing with the deaths of colleagues is hard enough - going to the funeral of a close friend who'd died while wearing the mask is cruel. Dick and Tim have both lost family before, while Barbara's spent years with the constant worry for her father's life. I don't want them to get closer than they have to, especially with such a high likelihood of loss."

"You can't make that decision for them, Bruce. And the fact that they've all spent as much time in uniform as they have means each of those three incredible youngsters knows exactly how much risk is involved with our job. They know what they're signing up for when it comes to befriending others in the same field."

Very slowly, Bruce bowed his head in acknowledgement of the point. "...You can take him up from eight to noon on Saturday. I'll be in a board meeting during that time, and Alfred can use it to finish the party arrangements."

"Alright then. And I promise to have him back on time." Clark grinned.

"You had better, Kent. Or it won't be me after your head, but my butler." And really, that was one of the most dire threats the Dark Knight could deliver.

-JKI-

"Did you hear? Batman's kid is gonna be coming up in a couple weeks."

"Yeah, I heard it was his birthday. Think we should get the kid anything?"

"Pfft, right, like the Bat's gonna let him leave with any present from the rest of us."

"Nah, Superman's the one bringing the kid up here. The Bat himself won't be around."

"Really? We might just have to plan something then..."

Upon Superman's return to the Watchtower after finally winning Batman's agreement to the surprise for Robin's birthday, the news had spread like wildfire. Superheroes and civilian workers alike were wondering what they could do to help make the kid's day a great one, so much so that J'onn finally gave in and put a few people in charge of arranging the event, in order to prevent general chaos on the day.

"Why is such fanfare being made over one child earning another number to his age?" Orion grumbled as he went past yet another group of scheming heroes. Going in the opposite direction, Flash grinned and backtracked upon hearing the New God's question.

"Well, aside from wanting to be nice to a kid on his birthday, lots of folks around here were also hoping for some way to meaningfully thank Rob for his help with the whole Sivana doomsday device thing." The speedster informed him.

"We do not do such things for one another after missions of equal caliber."

"True. But! We do celebrate when big emergencies are handled successfully, like that Mordu fight last spring."

"Hmph."

"Ah, c'mon dude, don't you want to help a boy feel good on his birthday? Especially Batman's youngest partner, since I know for a fact he doesn't have as many fun times as other kids his age."

"...I put on the gift list that I would bring a pair of hover disks for the child."

"That's the spirit!"

-JKI-

"If we time the attack just right, we can trap the entire League when they attempt to teleport to the surface."

"Excellent. When is the soonest optimal opportunity?"

"Well, we had thought it would need to wait some weeks longer, but our most recent word states that there's going to be some sort of event aboard the Watchtower Saturday after next. Nearly every League member has put in effort to be included - in fact, the only one we know for certain who will not be present is Batman."

"Hm... One man, even arguably one of the most powerful of the lot, will not pose a threat to our plan."

"Powerful, sir? I thought he had no metahuman powers."

"And he doesn't, but Batman is all the more dangerous for that. How do you suppose an average man would become a leader among modern gods? Gotham's dark avenger is in a class unto himself, but fortunately for us, he alone will not be able to stop us once the League is removed from the equation. Inform the others of our new target date."

"Yes, sir!"

"...What could they possibly be meeting for that would require all but one's presence, I wonder?"

 _Even after Cadmus' beating and losses, it would seem that there's still a handful of powerful former allies interested in taking the League out of action... As far as that mention of the Thanagarian occupation goes, you can read my take on it with the Gotham heroes in my story Hiding from Hawks._

 _Now, on to the special day itself!_


	3. Chapter 3

Several people were waiting in the Watchtower's primary teleportation and communications bay on Saturday morning when Superman requested a ride up for himself and one guest. Robin was nearly bouncing with excitement when they beamed in, gazing in awe at the massive room.

"This place is so much bigger than the old one!" He said excitedly, turning to look out the wide windows at the view of space and Earth. " _Wow!"_

Superman chuckled, gently nudging the pre-teen. "Well, can't stay in here all day - we've got a full schedule ahead of us."

"We do? I thought I was just gonna get a look around and then have to go back to Gotham..."

"Not the case, short stuff! Yer stuck with us until high noon, come heck or high water." Vigilante walked up to them, obviously smiling under his bandana if the lightness in his tone and wrinkles around his eyes were any indication. "And you better believe us folks in the League have been lookin' real forward t' this here event, which is why I'm glad I drew the lucky number 'n get t' be th' one t' show ya around."

Robin arched an eyebrow. "Event? ...Did Batman approve of this?"

"We figured he'd be better off not knowing until after you head home." Superman coughed lightly in embarrassment. Robin just stared at him for a moment, before grinning and letting loose a delighted cackle.

"Well, let's get started then!"

"I like this kid's enthusiasm." Vigilante tipped his hat to the Man of Steel, steering Robin towards the main hallway. "We're gonna start at the bottom deck and work our way upwards, that alright with you, short stuff?"

"As long as I get to see it all, heck yeah!"

"Well we'll certainly try then, though I reckon we're gonna have to move pretty quick if yer dead set on gettin' the full show." Smiling as his friend's foster son headed off with one of the League's most accomplished showmen, Superman flew up to the communications deck to check in with J'onn and Mister Terrific.

"We're keeping tabs on any developing problems on the surface, but for now everything looks to be all clear." The genius said with a grin. "Which is good, 'cause anyone sent on a mission right now would be super disappointed."

"I believe the term for that is 'understatement of the year'," J'onn intoned with a hint of a smile, getting Superman to blink at him.

"Have you been listening to the younger heroes again?"

"Considering how loud they are, it would be hard not to."

-JKI-

"...And this here's the Javelin bay, where we keep our fastest vessels." Robin whistled at the sight of dozens of the spacecraft, though he decided a little messing with his tour guide was in order.

"Eh. Batplane's cooler."

"Excuse me, short stuff? These here contraptions are capable of interstellar flight-"

"Can they maneuver between city skyscrapers at top speed? Or come with a fully stocked arsenal capable of dealing with anything from an army of giant plants to nanotech alien machines?" Vigilante blinked at the kid's innocent expression.

"...You Bat folk go out yer way t' avoid bein' impressed with other folks' belongings, I take it."

"Basically, yeah."

"Well, I hope you find it in yer teeny little mind t' be impressed with the presents folks up here been gettin' ready fer ya."

"Wait, presents? For me? They didn't have to-!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there, short stuff. Sure, none of us _had_ to, but plenty people 'round here wanted t' do something nice t' say thanks fer bailing us out o' a jam with that Sivana nutter, and after Supes said you were gonna be comin' up fer yer birthday, we decided t' make it as good as we could." Vigilante felt a brief moment of panic as the kid sniffed and swiped at his eyes under his mask. "Aw, hey now, 's not that big a deal."

"Yeah, it is. I never really had an actual birthday party until I started living with Batman, and even then they were pretty small because there aren't very many people he trusts to let close enough they'd _want_ to celebrate. But, you guys barely even met me for the first time a couple weeks ago, and still did this..."

"Fer cryin' out loud, kiddo, you've been at this gig longer than there's _been_ a Justice League! 'Course we'd wanna help celebrate you makin' it through another year. Now c'mon, we'd best be headin' up t' the commissary 'fore that Flash feller eats all the good food."

"He was always doing that on the old Watchtower, too." Robin smirked. "I'm kind of surprised you guys are able to feed all these people _and_ Flash. One or the other is a miracle in and of itself."

"Heh, got that right, short stuff."

-JKI-

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Begin the operation."

-JKI-

"Hello, Robin. Have you been enjoying yourself?" Diana smiled at her good friend's youngest, who looked as though he could barely contain his excitement.

"Yeah, it's been pretty great. I can't believe you guys get to spend so much time up here. So, what's this Vigilante was saying about presents? Because I'm still surprised anyone would think about doing that for me..." The aforementioned hero had paused to exchange greetings with some other heroes, Thunderbolt and Crimson Fox, allowing Robin to wander down the hall as he looked out the window panels. Wonder Woman, coming from the other direction, was glad to stop and talk to him before the boy completely left his tour guide's distracted vision.

"I think it was originally the idea of one of our communications techs, one with children of his own. And of course he happened to mention it to a friend while a link was open, and after that, well. You get the idea." Robin was laughing as Vigilante hurried up to them.

"Sorry 'bout that, short stuff. Howdy, Ma'am." He tipped his hat to Diana. "We were just headin' up t' the commissary, if you'd like t' join us."

"Thank you, I think I will." The trio had barely gone ten paces, though, before the station's intercom crackled to life.

"All League members, we have an Omega Level alert! Every available member to the teleporters, I repeat, we have an Omega Level alert, this is not a drill!" J'onn's voice rang out, prompting hurried movement from everyone in the area. Wonder Woman flew off, followed by others in the hall, as Vigilante grabbed Robin by the arm and hauled him out of the way.

"Kid, you think you can keep out th' way up here? Omega means we've-"

"Got a serious disaster or major criminal attack on your hands, like Sivana was or Luthor when Brainiac melded with him, I know. I can come and help-"

"Oh-ho, no, no offense sonny, but even with the help you gave us before, you are in point of fact just a kid, and _Batman's_ kid at that. If you came into a fight this big with us, he'd have our heads after it was all over, mine especially! Just, just take an elevator to the teleporter pad where ya came in, and once everyone's deployed J'onn ought t' send you home right quick. Alright?" Vigilante didn't wait for an answer before he was off and running, leaving Robin alone in the now deserted hallway.

The pre-teen's eyes narrowed.

"Teleport home. Just like that. Yeah, right." Knowing he'd probably be ordered to go home if anyone ran into him, Robin looked around until he found the nearest grate leading into the ventilation system. Using a short laser cutter to get it open, he slipped inside, sealing the grate back into place after him. Then Robin headed back in the direction of the Javelin bay.


	4. Chapter 4

Bruce was halfway done with the meeting when the League communicator in his pocket started buzzing urgently. Gritting his teeth in sudden panic, he considered the best way to slip out without irritating his board members more than necessary - it would be the third time in the last two months, after all. Fortunately, Lucius Fox caught his eye, and understood that something had come up. More easily able to come and go than Bruce, the department head excused himself, stepping out of the meeting room for a moment before returning.

Approximately two minutes later, the fire alarm went off. Hastily, everyone gathered up their papers and briefcases, hurrying out the door and in the direction of the stairs. Lucius smiled back at Bruce from the crowd, while the company owner made his own escape.

Easily making it back to his office without being seen, Bruce pulled out his communicator to hear about whatever disaster was occurring now. Hopefully, it wouldn't be Tim's fault. He caught the computerized alert of an Omega level alarm, but when directly calling the Watchtower... There was no answer. Frowning, Bruce tried contacting the under-construction Metrotower in Metropolis instead, only to have the same problem.

He was about to contact Robin directly when there came a distinctive rumbling from the street outside his building. Stomach sinking, Bruce moved to look out the picture window. As a herd of monstrous warthogs charged down the avenue, he was perfectly aware that were Tim by his side, the boy would have made some inane comment about "Haven't we done giant mutant animals already?"

With a sigh, Bruce reached for the hidden desk drawer that held one of his Batsuits.

-JKI-

"How are the first of Milo's mutants doing?"

"We have confirmed deployment in Gotham, Metropolis, New York and Boston. The next waves will be released in seven further cities on the west coast and in the heartland."

"Excellent. And they will begin the meltdown procedure in two hours, correct?"

"Yes sir. Milo's notes were very clear. Even should local law enforcement or costumed heroes outside of the League not be able to stop them, the mutants' cellular structure will start to collapse after their time limit is up, and they'll break down into non-living animal components and synthesized chemicals."

"It's a pity the man wasn't able to pull together a more impressive presentation before Waller sacked him. Though, his leftovers will serve the remnants of Cadmus well at any rate. Are the shuttles in orbit yet?"

"Almost, sir. They should be entering the upper atmosphere at this very moment, and then it will be approximately twenty six minutes until they reach the Watchtower. Once they enter with the codes Luthor stole from the League, it should only take an hour at most for the loading process, and another for them to return planetside to our cryogenic storage facility."

"Perfect. All according to plan."

-JKI-

"Batman to all League Affiliates - the Watchtower isn't responding to any hails, and we have a growing problem." The Dark Knight growled as he narrowly avoiding being run down by one of the squealing mutant animals. "I'm getting reports of attacking monsters in cities across the country, and need any available hands to go on the offensive." He pulled out an explosive batarang to launch at the warthog, only to pause as another came from above, launching out a net and capturing the massive animal.

Nightwing and Batgirl dropped down on either side of him, ready to continue the fight even as Batman himself barked out instructions to the heroes who'd responded to his call. In Metropolis, Mister Miracle and his wife Barda battled to bring down a raging herd of gazelle and tiger hybrids, while in Boston, Aquaman emerged from the sea to drown a small army of massive tarantulas. Captain Marvel took on the spiny alligators emerging from New York's sewers, his sister Mary Marvel staying in Fawcett City to handle the armored bears. In Keystone and Central, a group of heroes called the Freedom Fighters fought against a herd of acid-spewing elephants, while several super-powered teens led by Static Shock in Dakota City worked together as they fought several dozen lions who'd been fused with octopi of all things. Star City found itself protected from a swarm of giant wasps by Speedy, who was joined from the shadows by a woman in a green kimono and a grinning cat mask. Hawkman flew over the streets of Midway City, taking down the armadillos that left behind a trail of acidic slime, while Coast City was protected by a young man in a blue and black uniform, who called up the oceans' waves to snatch and drag away the large, writhing centipedes.

Some fared better in their battles than others, though everyone was holding their own enough that Batman was willing to ignore all the attackers in favor of investigating what had happened to the League. His gut was telling him this was a larger plot, possibly someone striking while they thought they could get away with their scheme as the heroes still recovered from the battles the month before with Cadmus and Luthor/Brainiac.

Leaving the last of Gotham's pig problem to his partners, Batman retrieved his jet and set off for the Metrotower.

What he found there shocked even the usually unflappable crimefighter.

-JKI-

High over Earth, the Watchtower continued to move steadily through its orbit. The sirens were still blaring over the Omega alert, added to by the proximity alarms as three cobbled-together shape shuttles approached. But there was no movement, no response to these things.

J'onn J'onzz stood over the central communications array, arms outstretched over the controls, perfectly frozen in place. His mind reeled at the sheer oddness of it, especially as his telepathic powers were rendered nearly useless. Down below, several heroes were halted in the motion of running towards the teleporter pad, civilian workers also frozen in various positions around them. Dimly, J'onn could sense everyone throughout the Watchtower similarly stranded - workers throughout various levels at their stations, heroes who'd been moving either to the teleporters of Javelin bays, and somewhere in the vents, one very startled and worried boy frozen where he couldn't see what had happened to anyone else.

The Martian could feel, very faintly, the panic Robin was trying to suppress. He attempted extending a telepathic link to the boy in order to explain or at the very least calm him down. As it was, the slightest expansion of his mind was beyond him. J'onn could only hope that the shuttles approaching them were coming to help fix the situation.

Somehow, though, he knew such a thing was likely too good to be true.

-JKI-

The Marvels were the first to join Batman at the Metrotower, where Superman, Hawkgirl, Obsidian, Rocket Red, and Doctor Light were frozen in place on the teleporter pad. It had been one of the first things installed in the new base, and the five heroes looked like they'd been beamed down ready for action before becoming stuck.

Batman was growling to himself as he fiddled with the mechanics inside the pad, where he removed one of the external panels. Mary started checking for reactions from any of the frozen heroes by waving her hands in front of their faces, while her brother cautiously approached the Gotham crimefighter.

"Um, sir? What's wrong with them?" Captain Marvel asked, sounding for all the world like the ten year old he really was behind the transformative magic.

"Someone sabotaged the teleporters, so that when used, they would emit a wave of zeta beam radiation that would freeze all nearby beings in place." Batman growled. "They must have set all those mutants on the civilian population so as to trigger the Watchtower's alerts."

"And when the League tried to respond, they all got stuck like this." Mary Marvel frowned. "Why?"

"I'm going to find out." Despite wielding the power of the gods, both the Marvel's stepped back at the venom in Batman's voice. They exchanged nervous glances, before Mary prompted her brother to ask something they'd discussed on the flight over.

"So, uh, are Robin and the others holding down the fort in Gotham?"

The Dark Knight's hands tightened reflexively. "...Batgirl and Nightwing are. Robin was aboard the Watchtower this morning." Eyes widening, Captain Marvel gaped for a moment, his sister wearing the same shocked and fearful expression. "Can either of you survive the vacuum of space long enough to head up there and make sure everything's alright?" He wasn't quite sure what it was, but something in Batman's tone had Captain Marvel know that the hero was very worried about his youngest partner.

"I've never tried it before, but we've got the same powers..." Mary was looking questioningly at her brother.

"Yeah. Yeah, we could make it to the Watchtower. I don't have a clearance to enter anymore, though-"

"Here." Batman pulled out his League membership card, thrusting it at the two of them without looking away from his work on the teleporter. "As far as I can tell, those affected by the zeta wave may not be able to move, but they still have all their senses and mental faculties."

"Got it." The siblings nodded to each other, then took off through the openings in the walls of the new building, heading upwards. Batman waited until he was sure they were gone before pausing in his work to lean an aching head against the cool metal structure before him.

 _Please be alright, Tim..._


	5. Chapter 5

Tim was not alright. Not in _any_ sense of the word. He'd been crawling through the narrow vent at a decent pace when the world shimmered around him, followed by the kid being unable to move. Since he was still able to think and panic about the situation, he figured he must still be breathing, or at least in some sort of suspended animation.

It was getting chillier in the vent, and Robin would have shivered were he able. When first becoming stuck, he'd tried counting the seconds to keep track of how long he'd been there. After hitting two thousand five hundred, though, his mind wandered to other things.

Like what the heck had happened to the League.

Even with the Omega alert, Robin figured he'd been gone long enough that someone would have come to find him - if nothing else, J'onn would have sent out a telepathic probe. Unless, of course, everyone else on the space station had been trapped in place as well. After more than forty minutes of silence, that was seeming more and more likely.

Exasperated, the kid tried to groan, and startled himself when the sound actually emerged. His vocal cords weren't frozen anymore!

Panic being replaced by new hope, Robin started going through other tests to see what else he could regain control of. As the minutes passed, the muscles controlling his fingers and toes loosened up, followed by the ones in his jaw and neck. Not much longer after that, he was finally able to stretch out from his hands and knees position, sighing in relief as it seemed like everything was working again.

Robin only stayed there for a brief, luxurious moment. He then set off down the length of the vent, eager to find out what had caused the weird event, and if everyone else was okay too. When the kid arrived at one of the openings to the Javelin bay, though, he came to a sudden halt.

There were unfamiliar ships in there, with people wearing a specialized form of the American army uniform. And the League members... He could see almost twenty superheroes, frozen in various running positions, being locked into transporters usually used to restrain beaten metahuman villains. The civilian workers in the bay had all been carried over and set against one of the interior walls, ignored by the military personnel who were coming and going from the rest of the Watchtower, bringing more and more of the helpless Leaguers to their ships.

This was really, really bad.

Robin took a steadying breath, the thought flitting at the back of his mind that there were a lot more enemies in the bay than he'd ever had to take on by himself before. He ruthlessly squashed it, telling himself that, for whatever weird reason, he was the only one no longer trapped by the thing that had frozen everyone aboard the station. And that meant he was the only who could save the League before they were taken elsewhere by these people.

Time for stealth, then.

He started by slipping around to another vent grate, one hidden behind a Javelin, and exited silently into the shadows. A nearby elevator opened, two army guys stepping out with a stiff Aztek secured to a wheeled platform in front of them. Robin was able to catch the pair with a grappling line, pulling one guy's head into the other and knocking them both unconscious before either could shout in alarm. He quickly pulled them and Aztek into the shadows, smiling up at the frozen hero before moving on to his next target.

Over the next twenty minutes, Robin was able to subdue and hide a few dozen of the intruders as they entered or left the bay, stashing the immobile League members where he hoped they would be out of harm's way. It took one of the shuttle pilots emerging to yell at the others for being behind schedule for the invaders to realize that they were missing staff.

Then things got a bit trickier.

The army people rightly assumed that someone must have been missed by their sabotage, or else had arrived after the Justice League was taken down, and was messing with their efforts. Most of them spread out into the bay, searching for whoever the mystery saboteur was. There were several exclamations of surprise as their missing personnel were found, though the heroes remained unspotted. Meanwhile, Robin was able to use the opportunity to take more of the intruders down, often removing them from right behind the backs of their comrades. Eventually, though, his luck ran out.

"There!" Gunshots were fired, prompting the kid to leave off his current target and dodge the incoming fire. More and more of the army guys were seeing him then, aiming as best they could at his wildly moving form. A couple of bullets managed to graze him on the arm and shoulder, but Robin ignored the stings in favor of maintaining his momentum.

Conveniently, an elevator door opened just as he was about to go by, prompting the young crimefighter to swing inside, knocking down the startled woman as he punched the command for the door to close. Several more shots hit the exterior of the closing compartment, but by then they were moving and Robin slumped in relief.

"Oh, hi Vigilante." He smirked at the frozen cowboy who shared the elevator with him and the unconscious invader. "Guess all this isn't _too_ bad for a kid, huh?"

When they reached a random floor, Robin left the woman where she was, pushing Vigilante's cart out and into a nearby closet. "You should be safe in here. And I think the whatever it was that froze everyone ought to wear off at some point like it did with me. Stay put until it does, though, okay?" He closed the door, noticing then the blood leaking from his grazes. Hurrying down the hallway even as he pulled out a couple of bandages, Robin quickly stemmed the flow from his wounds, and then started heading towards the communications room.

He doubted his comlink had a strong enough signal to get through to Batman in Gotham, but he should be able to form a message and send it off from the main array. If he could get there undiscovered, of course.

Just as he had that thought, Robin heard the elevator back behind him open with a little _ding,_ followed by the angered yelling of the military guys who piled out, intent on chasing him down. Maybe a little revision was necessary - if he could get to the communications room in one piece...


	6. Chapter 6

When the Marvels made it up to the Watchtower and got in using Batman's card, neither was entirely sure of what they were expecting. Frozen members of the Justice League? Yep. Unknown intruders intent on killing or kidnapping the immobilized heroes? Likely.

Said intruders sprawled unconscious throughout the Javelin bay while the heroes were in weird places around the room? Not something they'd envisioned. Fortunately, a few of the smaller statured Leaguers were starting to twitch, prompting Captain and Mary Marvel to start flying around and gathering them all into one place.

"Can anyone of you guys move your mouths enough to tell us what happened?" The Captain asked once it looked like everyone in the bay had been retrieved. Stargirl was able to make noises at them, as well as open her lips ever so slightly to let the words escape.

"R... Bn." Grinning as he heard that, Marvel started to ask where his friend was, when the rumbles from an explosion elsewhere on the Watchtower interrupted.

-JKI-

"Face it, kid." The goon snarled, planting his boot on Robin's chest. "You've lost."

He'd led them on a merry chase, though. Across eight floors, three elevator rides, two side-trips through the vents and one very memorable fight in the kitchens, Robin had given his pursuers the worst struggle of their lives just to keep him in sight. He'd taken a couple more grazes from bullets coming too close for comfort, and one that had gone straight through his left leg, but never had the boy stopped his mad scramble for the communications room.

Well, he had made it in the end, able to ditch or take down various opponents until there was only this one guy left. Sadly, said guy was one of the bigger ones, and had caught up just as Robin was getting the door open. Before the kid had a chance to dodge, he'd been thrown past an immobile J'onn J'onzz to crash into the console, biting back a scream as electricity from the thing singed his skin and uniform alike. Then the man was picking him up by the front of his tunic and slamming the boy into the floor, stomping down before he could roll away.

"That's... What you think!" Robin wheezed as the air was forced from his lungs. Pulling forth a razor edged batarang, he stabbed into in the thug's calf. Shouting at the pain, he pulled back, finally allowing Robin to breathe in and start coughing. The kid scrambled to continue attacking, getting to his feet and charging. One kick to the inside of the knee on the goon's good leg had it wrenching out of alignment, getting another pained and furious yell from the man. As he dropped to the ground, Robin spun around and shoved _him_ into the damaged console, exposing his opponent to the same shock he'd received. This time, though, the communications array couldn't take the added strain, blowing up with a force that threw the goon to the floor and Robin into the wall, hard enough to dent the metal and have him seeing stars.

"Ow..." Groaning as he dropped back down, Robin blinked wearily at the damage, then at the Martian who was still frozen beside it. "S'ry, 'bout that..."

 _*Do not concern yourself over it.*_ A voice said softly. Robin stiffened and tried to identify the new threat, before realizing J'onn had spoken to him telepathically. He wondered why the guy hadn't done so before. _*Because I was unable to. The blast that caused our paralysis dampened both my motion and abilities, leaving me unable to do more than sense those around me.*_ His mental words gained an undertone of concern. _*I know you have been wounded. How badly?*_

"S'not too terrible. I've had, had worse-" Robin cut himself off with a pained gasp as he tried to stand. His ribs were not happy after the recent hits. Resigning himself, Robin dropped back down into his slump against the base of the well. "But, I've also been better."

 _*Indeed. Fortunately, I think you are about to receive much-needed aid.*_ The kid didn't have time to ask what that meant before a nearby door was banged open, and then a pair of red figures trimmed with white and gold were hovering before him.

"Oh boy." Captain Marvel dropped down beside the injured boy. "You awake in there, dude?"

"Hey Billy... Mary..."

"Yeah, he's awake." Mary joined her brother, hands tentatively ghosting over the places that blood still sluggishly leaked from Robin's wounds. "Where's the doctor's office here?"

 _*Three levels down.*_ Both of them jumped at J'onn's mental projection, but quickly calmed their racing hearts. The Captain went ahead and carefully scooped up his friend, taking him down to the medical rooms while Mary hung back just long enough to tell the Martian what Batman had figured out already. When she joined the boys, Billy had shifted back to his mortal form, the better to be able to help Robin peel away his ripped and bloodstained uniform in order to patch the gashes up. Mary transformed as well, recognizing that not needing to rein back her superstrength was a good idea. Between their helping hands and Robin's slurred instructions, they were able to secure bandages on his bullet grazes, clean out the hole in his leg, and wrap up his bruised ribs.

"Agent A back home is probably gonna redo it all anyway, but I'd rather get it done now than waiting." Robin explained to them, looking a lot more alert after Mary had found some painkiller tablets for him to take. "He's fussy like that."

The siblings grinned at him, getting into a conversation with the Gotham crimefighter about the peculiarities of the older generations. All three of them were sitting comfortably on the room's medical berth when the door suddenly slid open to reveal a harried looking Man of Steel.

Superman blinked at the kids. They blinked back at him. He blinked again, then shook his head to hide the bemused grin. "I guess Batman insisting on my coming up here wasn't as badly needed as he thought, then."

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine, Robin - very concerned over your well-being though, and quite determined to make me come up here as soon as I could to check on you, since the comms are down and neither of the Marvels ever came back to fill him in."

"Oops." Billy and Mary chorused, setting Robin to snickering. His laughter left off as it jostled his ribs, though, which had Superman looking over him with x-ray vision.

"You managed to crack a couple of those." He informed the boy. "Do you want me to take you home in a Javelin to get them properly looked at by Al- er, uh, Agent A, that is?"

"And miss whatever party is was you guys had planned before this mess? No thanks!"

Billy frowned. "Party?"

"Or something along those lines. Vigilante was telling me a little about it when he was showing me around. By the way, did he get out of the closet okay?" Superman started at the odd question suddenly sent his way.

"I, um, I'm not sure, but I can go check."

Robin nodded in satisfaction. "Thanks, I'd appreciate that." He turned back to the siblings. "Anyway, you guys can probably stick around for it if you want, I don't too many people would mind."

"That would be so cool!" Mary gushed, eyes sparkling with excitement. "I've only been up here a couple of times, and never for a party!"

"Well, if nobody complains... Sure!" Billy agreed as well. Robin grinned at them.

"Great!"

Someone did complain.

Not about the Marvels' presences on the Watchtower, but rather, about Robin staying up there for the festivities. Batman was not happy when word finally reached him about his partner's wounds and single-minded determination to remain aboard the space station. When a working comline was finally established, the two argued for almost fifteen minutes, leaving everyone nearby astounded that so small a boy could hold his own against the Dark Knight's terrifying growls and commands.

In the end, Robin got his way, gaining permission to stay until the early afternoon, at which point someone called Agent A would be expecting his return to Gotham. The mention of the other name was enough to get the kid to agree.

Several of the League members ended up departing early to start investigating the attack (though it turned out Batman had already tracked the perpetrators down and started forming a plan for their arrest), but everyone still on the Watchtower got a piece of cake and the opportunity to see Robin going through the collection of gifts he'd been gotten. Some were generic items that every kid ought to have, quite a few of which he ended up sharing with the Marvels, and others were suitably more impressive. He got a set of hover disks, some specialized weapons from around the world and galaxy, a few complicated puzzle games, and a new channel for his comlink that went directly to the League's communications array.

The kid loved every minute of it. Not just the gifts, but getting to thank all the League members present, chat with them, share jokes and stories... By the time of his departure, Robin was determined to badger Batman into letting him come visit again.

And so it was with great reluctance that the Dark Knight of Gotham started allowing his youngest to accompany him to either the Watch- or Metrotower once a month.

Clark never did let him live it down.

 _A/N: Much thanks to those who've read all the way to this ending, and I hope y'all make sure to take a look at my other stories for the DC Animated Universe, as well as keep your eyes peeled for those coming in future!_

 _-Triscribe_


End file.
